Electronics giant named one of top 10 global brands while carmaker ranked 53rd in world


For the first time, Samsung Electronics was included on the list of the world’s 10 most valuable brands selected by Interbrand on Tuesday.

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors also saw their brand values highly estimated by the agency, being ranked 53rd and 87th, respectively, on the list published by the world’s leading brand management consultancy.

According to the 13th annual Best Global Brands report from Interbrand, the ranking of Samsung Electronics climbed by eight notches to 9th in 2012 from 17th a year earlier. The agency abbreviated the tech giant’s name as “Samsung.”

The brand value of Samsung Electronics was estimated at $32.8 billion, up about 40 percent from the previous year.

Interbrand CEO Jez Frampton said that “brands like Apple and Samsung set the pace. Technology companies are doing so well because they’re showing real (understanding) of human beings.”

Samsung outperformed U.S. brands like Disney and Hewlett-Packard, which both dropped out of the top 10 list ― Disney from 9th to 13th and Hewlett-Packard from 10th to 15th.

Apple’s position rose from No. 8 to No. 2 this year, while Coca-Cola led global ranks for the 13th consecutive year. Interbrand estimated Coca-Cola’s brand value at $77.8 billion, up 8 percent from the 2011 report.

Hyundai Motor saw its ranking rise to 53rd from 61st a year before and outpace German player Audi (55th), Porsche (72nd) and Nissan (73rd), grabbing the position of No. 7 among automotive brands. The consulting agency assessed Hyundai Motor’s brand value at $7.5 billion.

The largest carmaker in Korea has been posting rapid progress in the Interbrand ranking since it was designated as one of the top 100 brands for the first time in 2005.

This year, Kia Motors also entered the top 100 list for the first time as the consulting firm hiked the company’s brand value by about 50 percent to $4.08 billion on a year-on-year basis.

Toyota Motor topped the list among automobile brands by capturing No. 10, followed by Mercedes-Benz with 11th and BMW with 12th.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)